Exhibition runs February 3rd — April 16th | OCA Center
Art Talk with Artist: February 2nd

Tamara Kostianovsky is an Argentinian-American artist whose globally recognized sculptures speak to themes of violence against humans and animals, consumer culture, and environmental devastation. For her solo exhibition at OCA Center, Mesmerizing Flesh, Kostianovsky presents two installations in the main gallery along with an additional sculpture series on the second level for a powerful and dynamic solo show. Mesmerizing Flesh opens on Friday, February 3^rd with a public reception from 6-9pm, and will remain on display through April 16^th. An artist talk will be held at Weber State University on February 2^nd.

“Inspired by art history, memories of butchered meat I saw while growing up in Argentina, and the mechanized systems of consumption that dominate the production of goods in the United Sates, my work proposes a type of beauty that integrates our corporeal realities to the contemporary systems of industrialization that devour them,” says Kostianovsky, who, for this exhibition, presents pieces from three different series of work: Tropical Abattoir, Actus Reus, and Nature Made Flesh. Each collection utilizes her textile medium and laborious process, yet allows the artist to delve deeper into various themes.

Kostianovsky’s newest Tropical Abattoir pieces will be presented in a central kinetic installation, in which life size animal carcass sculptures hang from a ceiling-mounted track and move through the space on a continuous loop. Made from floral fabric and discarded textiles, this series transforms symbols of carnage into visions of regeneration and rebirth, as exotic birds and vegetation emerge from forms akin to hanging meat. While unsettling in their anatomy, the carcasses themselves are far from gruesome with the bright tropical presence of Central American landscapes – particularly the artist’s home country of Argentina, where beef production plays a major role in the local culture.

Kostianovsky’s Actus Reus series has been evolving for the past ten years. These sculptures are more direct representations of hanging meat and are made from the artist’s own discarded clothing. Kostianovskyintentionally uses fabric reminiscent of a woman’s wardrobe to reference gender-based violence. “I grew up in Argentina during time of dictatorship, so these works for me are made with political intention to denounce the influence of that dictatorship on the female body,” she says.

Her overarching use of discarded fabric is also a commentary on the negative effects the fast fashion industry has on our environment. Her third series represented in this show, Nature Made Flesh, continues this thread of environmental concern as Kostianovsky imagines a world made from the remnants of consumer culture. Tree stumps and abandoned logs are symbols of devastation, yet are made with alluring colored fabric offering a utopian feel while inspiring a path toward a more sustainable future. “This work creates a positive alternative to a depressing outlook, asking, can we do something creative with all this detritus?”

Tamara Kostianovsky was born in 1974 in Jerusalem, Israel and grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the National School of Fine Arts “Prilidiano Pueyrredón” in Buenos Aires (1998), and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA (2003).

Biography

Tamara Kostianovsky was born in 1974 in Jerusalem, Israel and grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the National School of Fine Arts “Prilidiano Pueyrredón” in Buenos Aires (1998), and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA (2003).

Tamara Kostianovsky is represented by Slag Gallery, NY.

OCA would like to thank the following donors for supporting the organization’s general operation and programing, making this exhibit possible: Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, Weber County Ramp, Utah Office of Tourism, George S and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Dr. Ezekiel R. and Edna Wattis Dumke Foundation, Williamsen Family Foundation, United Way of Northern Utah, Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, Utah Division of Arts and Museums and Ogden City Arts.